British air show kicks off with small flurry of orders

FARNBOROUGH, England: Boeing Co. and European archrival Airbus racked up billions of dollars worth of aircraft sales at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday, raising hopes that the aviation industry has touched the bottom of a deep two-year downturn.

But the horizon remains clouded — major European airlines, which are still haunted by recession, mostly kept their hands in their pockets as Middle Eastern carriers and U.S. plane leasing firms made purchases to build up their fleets.